Plant and equipment builder Vulcan Engineering reports that Bruce McMellon has announced his retirement as the company’s chief executive officer.  In line with what is described as “a planned transition,” Edward J. LeVert will advance from chief operations officer to president and CEO of the company.

Vulcan’s chief financial officer, Richard Hendricks, and vice president for sales & marketing, Chris Cooper, will remain in those positions.

Helena, AL-based Vulcan Engineering is a full-service engineering company for foundries and heavy material handling companies.  It supplies specialty tooling, proprietary equipment, engineering, manufacturing, automation and integration services worldwide.

LeVert joined Vulcan in 2005 and has been its COO since 2008.  He has prior executive experience in foundry operations and in systems engineering and integration.

McMellon had been affiliated with Vulcan Engineering for 25 years.  He joined the company as a sales representative and advanced to become CEO in 1999.  Previously, he headed North American sales for British Molding Machine and held various management positions in the foundry industry.  

Vulcan stated that McMellon will be available to Vulcan on a consulting basis and intends to remain active in the industry.